Uhlmann Price Securities LLC Takes $477,000 Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Uhlmann Price Securities LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,804 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $200.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $206.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 62.83%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.